THREATS AND RESPONSES: PERSPECTIVES

By ELAINE SCIOLINO

Published: September 9, 2002

PARIS, Sept. 8—
President Jacques Chirac of France proposed a two-stage plan today that could lead to United Nations authorization of military force against Iraq.

In a wide-ranging interview at Élysée Palace, he said that he personally would like to see a new Iraqi government, but that any attempt to oust Saddam Hussein without the backing of a Security Council resolution would be a recipe for chaos in global affairs.

Mr. Chirac called Mr. Hussein a man who ''is especially dangerous to his own people.'' He added, ''I don't need to tell you that I condemn the regime in Iraq, naturally, for all the reasons we know, for all the dangers that it puts on the region and the tragedy it constitutes for the Iraqi people who are held hostage by it.''

On the topic of ousting the Iraqi leader, he said: ''One can wish for it. I do wish for it, naturally. But a few principles and a little order are needed to run the affairs of the world.'' Noting that there are many governments whose overthrow might appear desirable to Western leaders, Mr. Chirac cautioned, ''If we go down that road, where are we going?'' He noted that the Security Council had not reviewed any proposal for replacing Mr. Hussein -- the declared objective of the Bush administration.

In the interview, Mr. Chirac proposed a Security Council resolution that would give Iraq a three-week deadline for admitting United Nations weapons inspectors ''without restrictions or preconditions.'' If Mr. Hussein rejected their return or hampered their work, he said, a second resolution should be passed on whether to use military force.

The president said France would work on drafting this second resolution and the ultimate French stance would depend on the wording.

Mr. Chirac did not commit France to providing combat troops.

President Chirac described the Bush administration doctrine of pre-emptive military action in its fight against terrorism as ''extraordinarily dangerous.''

He said, ''As soon as one nation claims the right to take preventive action, other countries will naturally do the same.'' He asked, ''What would you say in the entirely hypothetical event that China wanted to take pre-emptive action against Taiwan, saying that Taiwan was a threat to it? How would the Americans, the Europeans and others react? Or what if India decided to take preventive action against Pakistan, or vice versa?''

Vice President Dick Cheney has dismissed the usefulness of returning weapons inspectors to Iraq, but President Chirac indicated he was listening to other voices in the administration, including that of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.

Mr. Chirac spoke in a 75-minute interview that ranged from his concern over what he called a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan to American perceptions of anti-Semitism in France. But his chief focus was Iraq. His position appeared nuanced, placing France closer to the administration's position than Germany, which has said it will not take part in an attack on Iraq, whatever the United Nations decides.

On Saturday, as President Bush was meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, Mr. Chirac was in Germany, meeting with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who has dismissed military intervention in Iraq as an ''adventure.''

Asked whether the timing of the meeting was intended to signal that France and Germany were united on one side of the debate, and America and Britain on the other, Mr. Chirac said, ''It's not Schröder and I on one side, and Bush and Blair on the other; it's Bush and Blair on one side and all the others on the other side.''

But, he said, ''I am in a different position from that of the chancellor.''

Mr. Chirac said that he and Mr. Bush had a ''friendly and warm'' telephone conversation on Friday and that Mr. Bush would be sending emissaries to France and elsewhere to make the administration's case. The quest for broad support for any move against Mr. Hussein clearly pleased Mr. Chirac.

He appeared concerned, however, that the United States, if it acted alone, might undermine the international coalition formed to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and accentuate what he called rising anti-Americanism and anti-Western sentiment in developing countries. ''I am totally against unilateralism in the modern world,'' he said.

He added that extreme care should be taken in preserving the coalition, suggesting that precipitate action against Iraq could alienate the Islamic world.

A collapse of the coalition would be especially dangerous at a time when Afghanistan remained treacherous and ''the many small warlords are well armed to fight against Al Qaeda'' but are now ''fighting among themselves,'' Mr. Chirac said.

Still, he made clear that the use of force against Iraq, with France's participation, could be envisioned. Asked whether military options to oust Mr. Hussein might be approved by the Security Council, he replied, ''Nothing is impossible, if it is decided by the international community on the basis of indisputable proof'' of the existence of weapons of mass destruction. But, he added, ''For the moment, we have neither proof nor decisions.''

Despite efforts by the Bush administration to link Iraq to Al Qaeda, Mr. Chirac said he had seen no evidence of a connection.